Ruger GP100 Review: Best Beginner Revolver?

I'm not a revolver guy. It's not because I have anything against them. It's just that I've always been more partial to semi-autos.

I've recently decided to get out of my comfort zone and experiment with various firearms I'm not familiar with, including the Ruger GP100 revolver.

This gun is an absolute tank. My specific model is the .357 Magnum variant, but GP100 revolvers have existed in .44 Special, .22 LR, 10mm, and .327 Magnum revolvers.

These are hefty, hard-use, practically made revolvers for defensive applications, competition, hunting, and general revolver shooting.

This GP100 has become my favorite revolver; keep reading to learn why…

Ruger GP100 Specs & Features

Specs

• Overall Length: 8.5"
• Barrel Length: 3"
• Weight: 36oz
• Caliber: .357 Magnum
• Capacity: 7 rounds

Features

• Fiber Optic Front Sight
• Checkered Hardwood Grips
• Satin Stainless Finish
• Triple-Locking Cylinder

GP100 Background

The GP100 series is nothing new. They hit the streets in 1985 and were an evolution of the Security Six lineup of revolvers. The Security Six was great but wasn't built for a diet of just .357 Magnums.

Like a lot of .357 Magnums in this era, the original Security could handle them mostly fine, but it wore out considerably faster when it consumed a diet of nothing but .357 Magnums.

Ruger made the GP100 to be a consummate consumer of .357 magnums, and it shows. Ruger platforms use a triple lock system for total reliability and durability.

The GP100 series is literally built like a .44 Magnum. It's just as thick and uses the same double-latching system as the Redhawk series.

These guns break down into three separate portions and don't require any specialized tools to break down. They lack a side plate, another durability improvement on the design.

From the ground up, Ruger wanted to build a beefy revolver, and that's exactly what they did.

The GP100 came out too late to find its way into the holsters of many police officers, but the Greek EKAM Counter-terrorist unit and the Serbia Special Anti-Terrorism Unit adopted the GP100, likely for very specialized roles.

Who Is This For?

The Ruger GP100 series is for anyone who wants a finely tuned, well-made, durable revolver. The different calibers and sizes make finding a GP100 for various uses easy.

Who is it for?

That's an interesting question. It's 36 ounces of steel with a compact grip and barrel. It could be tossed into a concealed carry role. It's no snub nose, but it's a helluva lot easier to shoot than any snub nose.

The 3-inch barrel and compact grips aren't too tough to conceal, but it's a hefty hand cannon. This gun could also be used for home defense, especially in states with magazine bans where the lower capacity is less of an issue.

To me, the place it shines the most is as an outdoor gun. Let's say I'm going for a hike. My chances of dealing with two-legged vermin decreased, but my chances of encountering four-legged vermin increased.

The Ruger GP100 packs a penetrating punch with .357 Magnum, and this particular model is fairly small and easy to tote. I still conceal when I hike, fish, and adventure. In that situation, I like the more powerful magnum round for dealing with hogs and the option for snake shot in the cylinder for the occasional moccasin.

(Although, to be honest, I try my hardest to avoid snakes. Snakes are bros.)

Fit & Feel

The layout of this Talo Distributor exclusive model is quite attractive to those chasing aesthetics. Yeah, yeah, function over form and all that. Why can't you have both, though?

If looking good can be considered a feature, this revolver has it. The unfluted cylinder, the stainless finish, and the wood grips make it stand out.

That unfluted cylinder is more or less a looks choice, but it does add a little weight to the gun, which helps with recoil. Most revolvers hold six rounds, but Ruger fits one extra in this model for a total of seven rounds.

Ruger's wood grips are good-looking but plenty practical with a fair bit of texturing. They fit in the hand quite nicely.

At the top, we have an adjustable rear sight that's low profile and easy to zero. Up front, we have a high visibility fiber optic front sight. It's also easy to see and to put on target.

Heavy often invokes a feeling of quality, and at first pickup, the 36-ounce Ruger GP100 certainly feels like a quality firearm. Luckily, it's more than a feeling, but more on that later. A beautiful stainless finish is certainly eye-catching and practical.

The wood grips seem old school but do fit in the hand well. A press button cylinder release is easy to engage and releases the cylinder easily. The spurred hammer is easy to cock, and the trigger is wide and easy to pull.

It's a solid gun all around. The cylinder locks up tightly and revolves nicely when the hammer or trigger is pulled. Ruger crafted quite a nice revolver, and the GP100 looks and feels brilliant.

How Does the GP100 Shoot?

Like a dream! Well, that's a bit short, so let's elaborate. I started with a lot of .38 Special. It's cheaper and allows me to get a lot of double-action trigger reps in.

A 36-ounce revolver makes the recoil from a .38 Special feel like nothing. It was grin-inducing the first time I fired it. Recoil was nearly nothing, and the .38 Special loads made the gun very easy to shoot.

With .357 Magnum, there is a noticeable increase in recoil and noise, but the gun never becomes tough to handle. That weight eats recoil well, and even the hotter .357 Magnums can't make it tough to shoot.

Firing a double tap of .357 Magnum is well within the realm of possibility.

I would feel comfortable handing this gun to a somewhat new shooter looking to fire their first magnum-powered pistol. One of the biggest benefits of the shorter 3-inch barrel is the excellent balance the gun provides.

This shorty GP100 doesn't ever feel front-heavy or off-balance.

Accuracy of the GP100

In the accuracy department, the gun deserves a better shooter. I'm fairly inexperienced with revolvers, but even I could keep my shots in the black of a B8 at 15 yards, shooting double action only. In fact, under a timer, I fired a modified 10-10-10 drill.

Obviously, the gun only holds seven rounds, so I fired seven rounds within 10 seconds at 10 years in double action only and landed all seven in the black. The little recoil does make the gun easy to shoot quickly.

Like all double-action triggers, it is long and heavy, at least long and heavy compared to striker-fired guns. That long and heavy trigger is lighter and smoother than most revolver triggers and was impressive. I put in a lot of dry fire reps, and the trigger never tired my wee little finger.

Accurate shooting pretty much all comes down to pulling the trigger without disturbing the sights, and I could mostly do that with the GP100.

In my experience, the .357 Magnum rounds were considerably more accurate than .38 Special. They tended to group a bit tighter when fired side by side.

I fired 300 .38 Special and 150 .357 Magnum rounds. My ammo was Remington .357 Magnum and American Eagle .38 Special. There were zero issues in terms of reliability through all 450 rounds.

My one slight issue comes down to ejecting the empty shells. Occasionally, one will get stuck just a bit on the edge of the gun's grip, requiring a slight cylinder rotation to free that last round.

What Sets the GP100 Apart

The GP100 series, in general, are made to be tanks. They can take a helluva beating and just keep functioning.

Ruger’s series can handle piles of ammo without issue, and if you ever run out of ammo, the hefty, tank-like design makes the GP100 well-suited for melee use.

This specific model is an interesting combination of features. The shorter barrel and smaller grips paired with the seven-round cylinder make it a standout.

Plus, the presence of actual sights is quite nice to see, and for a revolver newb like me, it makes the gun easy to shoot.

Ruger GP100

$730

at GrabAGun

Prices accurate at time of writing

$730 at GrabAGun

Classic Firearms (see price)

Kygunco (see price)

Ruger GP100 Accessories u0026 Upgrades

TUFF Quickstrip Speed Strips

$9 at Amazon

Otis Lens Cleaning Kit

$20 at Amazon

Mepro Tru-Dot Sights

$133 at Amazon

Final Verdict

The GP100 is a fantastic revolver. It's extremely well made, a ton of fun to shoot, and accurate, too.

For a beginner like me, it was a great way to ease into revolvers and made me excited to continue my wheel gun journey.

What do you think of the GP100? Let us know in the comments below. For more beginner-friendly revolvers, head to our round-up of the Best Revolvers for Beginners.